Branding and dehorning chute



Mmh -19, 1946.

I. PARSONS BRANDING AND DEHORNING CHUTE Filed Jan. 25, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR,

Patented Mar. 19, 1946 -BRANDING AND nEHonmNa-onU'rE Irven. Parsons, Bassett, Nebr. Application January 23, 1945,*-Serial=-No-."574 143 6 Claims.

This invention relates to holders for .cattle which are to be dehorned'or otherwise treated when it is desirable to restrain. the movement of the animal, and it is an object of the invention to provide what is sometimes known as a squeeze gate which prevents the subject from bodily movement, and the invention also includes means for drawing the head ofthe animalso that its lower jaw is in a trough-like support wherev it is held during the dehorning operation.

It is afurther object of the invention to provide .a pen or chute. into which the animal is driven,

the front of the pen beingprovided with a troughlike support for the head of the animal, a flexible member being also provided to be looped around the neck of the animaland operated so that it will draw ithehead of the animal down- Wardly withitsjaw resting in the trough.

. It is alsoan object toprovide side enclosures which. are adjustable, one from the other, .laterally to increase ordiminish the space .to'. be .occupied by the. animal, ,and to associate therewith, squeezingmeanshingedly connected to the aforesaid members.

It is furthermore anobject to provideoperative means by which the sides are adjusted, and other operative meansbywhich the squeezing instrumentalitiesareoperatedon their hinges orvpivots to effectively confine the animal forthe purpose indicated, andimeanslare furthermore provided fortemporarily retainingthe operative parts in different .positionsof. adjustment.

With the foregoingzand other objects in View, the invention consists in the detailsof construc- .tion, and in thearrangement and combination .of parts to be heifeinaiter more .fully set for-thand claimed.

In describing the inventionin detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of thisapplication, wherein like characters .denote corresponding parts insthe several views, and in which- Figure 1 illustrates a view in front elevation .of the animal holder;

I FigureZ. illustrates .a view'in elevation, showing one of the sides;

Figure 3 illustrates a transverse sectional. view on the .line 33 of- Fig." 2;

Figure l illustrates a longitudinal sectional View on the lined- 1 of Fig. 1;

Figure 5 illustratesza transverse sectional view of the device-on the 1ine.f5i5 .of Fig. '3;

-Figure.6 illustrates; axtransverse sectional view of the deviceonthe'line 6- 6 of Fig. 3.;

tend, each saidlatch beinggpivo ted "Figure 7 illustrates a'transverse sectional view of the device onythe line "'l"l of "Flgufi;

Figure '8 illustrates a detail-view showing the front'gateswung out to release the animal;

Figure .9 illustrates a sectional Viewv Oithe latch J for holding a-squeeze .bar; and

"Figure 10.,i1lustrates a sectional view on .the line 'l'll l0 of Fig.9.

In these drawings ['2 denotesseveral sections of a rectangular frame comprising base member s, side. members, vertically disposed members and horizontally disposed top member whichmay be'formedof metal vpipe, or the. frame maybeha wooden structure, but'the inventor does not. wish .to be limited with respect. to this feature. S,uit ablegfioor plankings 1'3 extend longitudinally ,of

the frame, and transversely disposed tub.e.S...Qr metal pipes I4 aresecured, to the fl00rbyglipS,

,suchas l5. The. tube is therefore .stationarily fixed on the floor, an theou r en o e ch tube is provided with a hinge .l6,, by which a sOliifiidB I1 Ofthe hold ltis hingedto .saidtubes. .A..c Q

panion solid side [8; has its'lower edgeconnected by suitable couplings l9 to, rods, suchas, each of whichfslide in .one, of the tubes which ,.,a,re anchoredjto the, floor. Thus, the side. t is..1 1 able with respect-to theside Ii! to -increase or diminish the, space between the, solid sides ,ofthe device. Allongitudinally extending. crank shaft 2 I, is rotatably mountedin bearings, .such as .22, or a stationarvpartof thestructuraandthe cranks 23 are, each connected .bva link 24 to the coupling l9- so that asthe crank shaft .,is; par- 'tially rotated, the. cranks operate-to .move .the

side l,8. inwardly or outwardly, according tothe direction, of rotation. ofthe crank shaft, --which crank shaft is, manipulatedbv a handle-s25 con nected to .theshaft-and, as, shown, there is a seemental. rack .26, the. teeth of which are engaged by, adog. or detent --21. carried .by the .handle so that. they crank shaftis held at difierent, positions of adjustment.

Inaddition to thesolidsides which aid in; confining the. animal, aplur lity of, tu ula m mbers, such. as 28, are ,.pivotally-.connected orhinged to the upper edges of the solid.sides,,as-at 29. The tubular. members of each side, o erate ;in :conjunction with anangle ironjn, zone flange 3;! of which is approximately horizontal and the other flange 32 oflwhichis. substantially. vertical. The flange 3| is provided witnapluralitvoi apertures '33, through which the, noses 340i latches,,.35, e

Qnth npper surfaceof the-flanges! andjthe flange, Blisbro- '65 'vided with spaced ribs 35, between which the upper ends of the tubular members are lodged and held when the latch is in operative position with relation to the tubes; it being understood that the latches may be manipulated to release the tubes which may swing to the dotted line position in which they are shown in Fig. 3. However, when the assembly is in operative position, the tubes have their upper ends lodged between the ribs and are held in that position by the latches. The angle iron 30 for each door is carried by two posts 30a attached at the ends of the door.

Suitably apertured ears 3! are carried by the flanges 32, and links 38 and 39 are pivoted to the ears 31 of the respective sides of the squeeze. The links have their inner ends pivotally connected to a cross arm 40 on opposite sides of a shaft M which is rotatably mounted on the frame. The cross arm has one of its ends connectedto a link 42 and the said link is moved longitudinally by the lever 43 pivoted to the frame. The c oss arm 44 on the shaft which is remote from the cross arm 40 is keyed to the shaft and is operated as the shaft is manipulated under the influence of the lever 43. The shaft 4| has a ratchet wheel 45 secured to it, and a do 46 engages the ratchet wheel to retain the shaft in difierent positions of adjustment, and it is obvious that the shaft may be released so that the parts may be returned to their open positions for the reception of a succeeding subject.

' The frame is provided with a door 41 which is preferably vertically slidable in the frame and and closed as is illustrated in Figure 8 where it is shown in an open position, and when it is closed, 'it has the position in which it is shown in Figure 6 and elsewhere. The front or egress door or closure is held closed by a latch 53 pivoted to the frame and engaging a lug 54 on the door. The frame of the front door has two brackets 55 anchored to it, and the brackets have bearings 56 for the shaft 51' of a Windlass 58 on which the ends of a flexible member 59 are wound, the said flexible member being looped, as at 6D, to embrace th neck of the animal which is driven into the holder, and the frame of the front door is also provided with diverging trough-like members 61 between which the jaw of the animal is drawn as the flexible member is wound on the drum of the Windlass. The shaft 51 has a ratchet wheel 62 secured on it and a handle havin aratchet 63 coacting with the ratchet wheel is oscillatably mounted on the shaft so that as the handle is moved back and forth, it will serve to rotate the ratchet wheel and the Windlass for operating the: flexible member 59.

For the purpose of pressin the neck of the animal from two sides, a yoke comprising two bars 64 and 65, each has its lower ends pivoted, as at 66,-- and these yoke members are moved toward and away from each other by a link assembly comprising the members 61, 68 and 69. The members 61 and 68 have their contiguous ends pivoted together, and the member 68 is mounted on a pivot Ill; The end of the yoke member 64 has a pivot H to which one end of the link member 69 is connected, and the said link member 69 has its opposite end pivoted to the-link member 68.

The frame of the door includesupper, lower and intermediate angle irons l2, and an operating bar 13 is slidable on the upper angle iron and it carries the pivot II to which the link 69 is connected. The bar has a handle 14 for manipulation and it also has a plurality of teeth 15 which may be engaged by a dog 16 by which the bar is held at different positions of adjustment. When the bar 13 is moved back and forth, it serves to move the yoke 64 and through the linkage described, the yoke 65, so that the yoke members may be drawn into ngagement with the neck of the animal occupyin the holder.

The angle irons which are part of the door 5! are attached to vertically disposed members Ti and 18, on which latter member the link 68 is pivoted.

As the structural features and functions of the different parts of the animal holder have been stated in connection with a description of the parts, it is believed unnecessary for an understanding of one skilled in the art to supply a rsum of the said operation.

I claim:

1. A cattle holder comprising an enclosure with an ingress door at one end, an egress door at the other end, a squeeze gate within the enclosure havil'lg two sides, one of which is approximately stationary and the other of which is movable toward and away from the approximately stationary side, including means for adjusting the movable side, tubular bars oscillatively mounted in the upper edges of each of the said sides, angle irons suspended above the tubular bars and engaged by said bars, latches on th angle irons for entering the tubes to hold them assembled with relation t the angle irons, means for moving the angle irons toward and away from each other for the purpose of squeezing and releasing the animal, means for retaining the moving means at difierent positions of adjustment, a neck yoke pivotally mounted on the egress door, means for operating the yoke for clamping or releasin the neck of an animal, a support for the jaw of an animal carried by the said egress door, and means for embracing the head of an animal and operative to pull the head downwardly with the jaw of the animal in said support.

2. In a holder for animals, an enclosure into which the animal is driven, a floor on which the animal is supported in the enclosure, tubular members extending transversely of the floor, clamps engaging the tubular members for holding them in stationary position, rods slidable in the said tubular members, a side wall secured to the outer ends of the tubular members, a movable side wall spaced from the first mentioned side wall connected to the rods, means for moving the rods to which the side wall is attached longitudinally of the tubular members, and means for retaining said means in adjusted positions.

3. In a holder for animals, an enclosure into which the animal is driven, a floor on which the animal is supported in the enclosure, tubular members extending transversely of the floor, clamps engaging the tubular members for holding them in stationary position, rods slidable in the said tubular members, a side wall secured to the outer ends of the tubular members, a movable side wall spaced from the first mentioned side wall connected to the rods, a crank shaft mounted in operative relation to the movable side wall, connections from the crank shaft to the rods, means for holding the crank shaft at different positions of adjustment, rods oscillatively mounted on the .upper edges of the side walls, a member above i by said bars,

each of the side walls with which the rods coact, means on the members for removably holding the rods stationary with relation to said members, means for moving the members toward and away from each other whereby the sides including the said rods are forced into engagement and released from an animal between the side walls, an ingress and an egress door at respective ends of the enclosure, means on the egress door for supporting the head of an animal occupying the enclosure, and means for pulling the head of the animal against said support.

4. In a holder for animals, an enclosure into which the animal is driven, a floor on which the animal is supported in the enclosure, tubular members extending transversely of the floor, clamps engaging the tubular members for holding them in stationary position, rods slidable in the said tubular members, a side wall secured to the outer ends of the tubular members, a movable side wall spaced from the first mentioned side wall connected to the rods, a crank shaft mounted in operative relation to the movable side wall, connections from the crank shaft to the rods, means for holding the crank shaft at different positions of adjustment, rods oscillatively mounted on the upper edges of the side walls, a member above each of the side walls with which the rods coact, means on the members for removably holding the rods stationary with relation to said members, means for moving the members toward and away from each other whereby the sides including the said rods are forced into engagement and released from an animal between the side walls, an ingress and an egress door at respective ends of the enclosure, means on the egress door for supporting the head of an animal occupying the enclosure, means for pulling the head of the animal against said support, yoke members oscillatively mounted in spaced relation to each other on the egress door, means for moving the said yoke members toward and away from each other, and means for holding the operating means in different positions of adjustment.

5. A cattle holder comprising an enclosure with an ingress door at one end, an egress door at the other end, a squeeze gate within the enclosure having two sides, one of which is approximately stationary and the other of which is movable toward and away from the approximately stationary side, including means for adjusting the mov able side, tubular bars oscillatively mounted in the upper edges of each of the said sides, angle irons suspended above the tubular bars and engaged latches on the angle irons for enterlng the tubes to hold them assembled with relation to the angle irons, means for moving the angle irons toward and away from each other for the purpose of squeezing and releasing the animal, said means comprising a shaft rotatably mounted on the enclosure, cross arms on the shaft, means connected to one of the cross arms for imparting rotary motion to the shaft, links connecting opposite ends of the cross arms to the respective angle irons, means for retaining the moving means at different positions of adjustment, a neck yoke pivotally mounted on the egress door, means for operating the yoke for clamping or releasing the neck of an animal, a support for the jaw of an animal carried by the said egress door, and means for embracing the head of an animal and operative to. pull the head downwardly with the jaw of the animal in said support.

6. In a holder for animals, an enclosure into which the animal'is driven, a floor on which the animal is supported in the enclosure, tubular members extending transversely of the floor, clamps engaging the tubular members for holding them in stationary position, rods slidable in the said tubular members, a side wall secured to the outer ends of the tubular members, a movable side wall spaced from the first mentioned side wall connected to the rods, a crank shaft mounted in operative relation to the movable side wall, connections from the crank shaft to for holding the crank shaft at different positions of adjustment, rods os-cillatably mounted on the upper edges of the side walls, a member above each of the side walls with which the rods coact, means on the members for removably holdingthe rod stationary with relation to said members, means for moving the members toward and away from each other whereby the sides including the said rods are forced into engagement and released from an animal between the side walls, an ingress and an egress door at respective ends of the enclosure, means on the egress door for supporting the head of an animal occupying the enclosure, means for pulling the head of the animal against said support, said means for pulling the head of the animal comprising a suitably operated windlass, a flexible member having its ends anchored to the Windlass and looped between its ends for embracing the neck of the animal back of the head, yoke members oscillatively mounted in spaced relation to each other on the egress door, means for moving the said yoke members toward and. away from each other, and means for holding the operating means in different positions of adjustment.

IRVEN PARSONS.

the rods, means 7 

